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Erick Erickson

Barack Obama, patron saint of the media

Much of the younger political press in Washington heralds from clearly left-of-center publications where worldview is more important than bottom line. They establish themselves in the world of coastal liberalism devoid of the practical sensibilities of river valley heartland ethic. They work their way into mainstream publications and shift their polemic to “objective” writing. But they still maintain their roots on the left, which is far more valuable in Washington than the practical experience of a real job.

Mark Murray is married to the chief of staff of the FAA, who before that worked directly for the transportation secretary. He joins a long list of Washington reporters marrying into the Obama Administration. Jay Carney worked for Time magazine, but left to be Joe Biden’s press secretary. When he became White House press secretary, Biden extracted Shailagh Murray from the Washington Post. She is married to Neil King of the Wall Street Journal.

Chuck Todd of NBC is a former Democratic staffer and is married to the former head of communications for the DNC. Ruth Marcus, the editorial page editor at the Washington Post, is married to the former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Barack Obama put him in that position. Jonathan Allen left Politico to go work for Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He eventually went back to Politico to be their senior Washington correspondent.

The revolving door between the media, their spouses and the Obama Administration is not a new phenomenon. But it is much more common. Barack Obama is both a patron and saint for much of the Washington press. He employs the spouses of the press corps who in turn feign objective coverage.

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Where once we had grizzled journalists who had been on a battlefield or in a coal mine and had stories to tell, we now have well-moisturized childless hipsters from the Ivy League convinced they can relate to the heartland of America and who are convinced their values are the values of the country.